Blessings from Butner PC
April 11, 2017
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24)
Pastor’s Corner
By now, you have undoubtedly heard about the Coptic Church bombings in Egypt on Palm Sunday. Suicide bombers struck churches in two Egyptian cities, killing 44 people and injuring over 125.
Christians are a minority in Egypt, comprising only 10 percent of the population, and they have increasingly been the target of the Islamic State. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the largest Christian Church in the Middle East. According to tradition, it was established by Saint Mark, the apostle, around AD 42.
Pope Francis said, “He (Jesus) is present in our many brothers and sisters who today endure sufferings like his own.” The Pope prayed not only for the victims, but for the terrorists, saying “May the Lord convert the hearts of people who sow terror, violence and death.”
As we prepare to celebrate the joyful promise of Easter, it is a sobering realization of just how far the human race remains from bringing about the kingdom of God on earth. Please keep the Copts and the other victims of violence around the world in your prayers.
At 6:00 p.m. on Thursday of this week, we will celebrate Maundy Thursday with a pot luck supper, remembering the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his apostles before his arrest and crucifixion. It is a wonderful way to prepare for the coming of Easter Sunday. Hope you can be there. (Note the time is 6:00 p.m. I had it wrong in last week’s newsletter.)